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Featured Canadian Authors: Marty Chan, Kenneth Oppel, Kit Pearson, Deborah Ellis, Janet Lunn, David E. Robertson, Gary Paulsen, Iain Lawrence, Susin Nielson, William Bell, Stacey Matson or Gordon Korman. |
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This place: 150 years retold
by Katherena Vermette
A graphic novel anthology depicts the last one hundred fifty years of Canadian history as seen through the eyes of the Indigenous peoples who inhabited the land before the Europeans arrived.
Reading Level: HL700L
Pillar: Respect
Themes: Canadian history, graphic novels, survival, resilience.
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Strangers
by David A. Robertson
Returning home to Wounded Sky First Nation, Cole Harper finds the community in chaos as a series of murders and a mysterious illness ravage the town. Read the rest of The Reckoner series.
Reading Level: HL630L, SORA e-book
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Murder mystery, ghosts, humour, magic, love.
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The Ghost Collector
by Allison Mills
In a debut inspired by Cree tradition, a girl from a family that can see ghosts decides to hoard the ghosts that approach her for help when her own mother passes away suddenly.
Reading Level: approx. 650L, SORA e-book
Pillar: Courage, respect
Themes: Grief and loss, paranormal, acceptance, family.
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The Peacemaker: Thanadelthur
by David Robertson
Cole learns the story of the remarkable woman known as Thanadelthur--peacemaker between the Cree and the Dene and interpreter for the governor of Fort York.
Reading Level: approx. 520L
Pillar: Courage, Respect
Themes: Graphic novel, Canadian history
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Goodbye Buffalo Bay
by Oskiniko Larry Loyie
Follows the author's last year in a residential school and his subsequent teenage years traveling back home in order to reconnect with his community amongst the traditional First Nations. Check out the first book As Long as the River Flows.
Reading Level: 660L
Pillar: Courage, Respect
Themes: Residential schools, friendships, self-discovery, resilience.
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Every Hidden Thing
by Kenneth Oppel
In the late nineteenth century, Rachel Cartland and Samuel Bolt meet right before their paleontologist fathers get into a fistfight over a newly discovered dinosaur fossil. Locked in a vicious battle of one-upmanship, the professors, along with Rachel and Samuel, separately follow the same lead to a dig site in the Badlands. Their star-crossed romance isn’t the only trouble: the teams are unearthing fossils in Sioux territory, which is risky enough, but Rachel and her father also desecrate a Sioux burial ground, rightfully igniting the ire of the tribe.
Reading Level: 650L
Pillar: Courage, Respect
Themes: Fast-paced, adventure, dinosaur fossils, paleontology, families, romance.
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Mary, Bloody Mary
by Carolyn Meyer
Mary Tudor, who would reign briefly as Queen of England during the mid sixteenth century, tells the story of her troubled childhood as daughter of King Henry VIII. Read more of the Young Royals Series.
Reading Level: 830L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Tudor period, Mary I, rulers, Renaissance.
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Vango: Between Sky and Earth
by Timothée de Fombelle
Becoming a fugitive when he is wrongly accused of murder, an aspiring young priest embarks on a transcontinental journey by train, boat, and airship in search of answers about his shrouded past. Read more of the Vango series
Reading Level: 750L
Pillar: Honesty
Themes: Mystery, treasure hunting, murder investigation.
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Resistance
by Jennifer Nielson
Chaya Lindner is a teenager living in Nazi-occupied Poland. Simply being Jewish places her in danger of being killed or sent to the camps. Using forged papers and her fair features, Chaya becomes a courier and travels between the Jewish ghettos of Poland, smuggling food, papers, and even people. Soon Chaya joins a resistance cell that runs raids on the Nazis' supplies. But after a mission goes terribly wrong, Chaya's network shatters. She is alone and unsure of where to go, until Esther, a member of her cell, finds her and delivers a message that chills Chaya to her core, and sends her on a journey toward an even larger uprising in the works -- in the Warsaw Ghetto.
Reading Level: 810L
Pillar: Service
Themes: World War II, Jewish resistance, fast-paced action.
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Wolf Blood
by by N.M. Browne
Escaping from a rival tribe after a fever kills her only friend, a Celtic warrior girl disguises herself as a beggar and forges an unlikely alliance with a young soldier who is hiding the truth about his werewolf nature from the Romans.
Reading Level: 750L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Werewolves, Celts, Roman soldiers.
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Cleopatra confesses
by Carolyn Meyer
A tale inspired by the life of Queen Cleopatra follows her ascension to the throne at the age of 18, a rule that is marked by her relationships with two Roman leaders and the ruthless ambitions of her sisters. By the award-winning author of Mary, Bloody Mary.
Reading Level: 920L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: murder, intrigue, ambition, Egypt.
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Ground Zero
by Alan Gratz
A dual tale published to mark the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks finds a young boy struggling to find his father and escape the World Trade Center in 2001, before a girl in battle-torn 2020 Afghanistan risks her life to help a wounded soldier.
Reading Level: 690L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Sept 11, dual perspectives, fast-paced.
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Arthur, High King of Britain
by Michael Morpurgo
Arthur himself tells the tales to a 12-year-old boy, who awakes in Arthur's cave after attempting to walk the seabed to the Eastern Isles . As the boy recovers, he learns how Arthur became king , hears the legend of Excalibur and the adventures of the knights, and finds out about the end of Camelot.
Reading Level: 760L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Arthurian legends, magic swords, rulers, Merlin, knights.
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The Beekeeper's Apprentice
by Laurie R. King
A chance meeting with a Sussex beekeeper turns into a pivotal, personal transformation when fifteen-year-old Mary Russell discovers that the beekeeper is the reclusive, retired detective Sherlock Holmes, who soon takes on the role of mentor and teacher.
Reading Level: 1010L
Pillar: Service
Themes: Mystery, women detectives, private investigators, suspense.
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Fight For Freedom
by Simon Scarrow
After Marcus Cornelius Primus's father is murdered and his mother kidnapped and enslaved, Marcus is forced to fight as a gladiator, enduring brutal training while he secretly plots to avenge his father's death and rescue his mother. Read more of the Gladiator series.
Reading Level: 850L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Slavery, revenge, gladiators.
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Rose Under Fire
by Elizabeth Wein
When young American pilot Rose Justice is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women's concentration camp, she finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners.
Reading Level: 950L, SORA ebook
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Historical fiction, air pilots, prisoners of war, WW II, diaries, resilience.
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Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Swashbuckling pirates, brawls, canons, tropical islands and of course, treasure, are at the heart of this epic adventure story. It is the villainy of that most ambiguous rogue Long John Silver that sets the tempo of this tale of treachery, greed, and daring.
Reading Level: 760L, SORA ebook
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Mystery, orphans, pirates, good vs evil, treasure.
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We all fall down
by Eric Walters
Accompanying his workaholic father to his job at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Will sees a new side of his dad as they try to make it to safety after an airplane strikes their building.
Reading Level: approx. 750L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Sept. 11, fathers and sons, survival.
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Anatomy: a love story
by Dana Schwartz
When Hazel, an aspiring female surgeon, meets Jack, a resurrection man who sells bodies for a living, they work together to uncover the secrets buried not just in unmarked graves but in the very heart of Edinburgh society. Catch the sequel, Immortality: A love story.
Reading Level: approx. 760L
Pillar: Honesty
Themes: Victorian London, roles of women, anatomy lessons, graverobbers.
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The Skin I'm In
by Sharon G Flake
Thirteen-year-old Maleeka, uncomfortable because her skin is extremely dark, meets a new teacher with a birthmark on her face and makes some discoveries about how to love who she is and what she looks like.
Reading Level: 670L, SORA audiobook
Pillar: Respect
Themes: African American, coming-of-age, self-acceptance.
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Ghost Boys
by Jewell Parker Rhodes
After seventh-grader Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat, he observes the aftermath of his death and meets the ghosts of other fallen black boys including historical figure Emmett Till.
Reading Level: HL360L
Pillar: Respect
Themes: African American history and culture, civil rights, social justice, ghosts.
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No fixed address
by Susin Nielsen-Fernlund
Twelve-year-old Felix's appearance on a television game show reveals that he and his mother have been homeless for a while, but also restores some of his faith in other people.
Reading Level: 620L
Pillar: Honesty
Themes: homelessness, game shows, middle school, friendships.
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The Poet X
by Elizabeth Acevedo
When Xiomara Batista, who pours all her frustrations and passion into poetry, is invited to join the school slam poetry club, she struggles with her mother's expectations and her need to be heard.
Reading Level: HL800L, SORA e-book and audiobook
Pillar: Honesty
Themes: Slam poetry, romance, independence
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The king of jam sandwiches
by Eric Walters
Thirteen-year-old Robbie leads a double life. It's just Robbie and his dad, but no one knows that his dad isn't like most parents. Sometimes he wakes Robbie up in the middle of the night to talk about dying. Sometimes he just leaves without telling Robbie where he's going. Once when Robbie was younger, he was gone for more than a week. Robbie was terrified of being left alone but even more scared of telling anyone in case he was put into foster care. No one can know. Until one day when Robbie has to show the tough new girl, Harmony, around school. Their first meeting ends horribly and she punches Robbie in the face. But eventually they come to realize that they have a lot more in common than they thought. Can Robbie's new friend be trusted to keep his secret?
Reading Level: 530L
Pillar: Honesty
Themes: humor, mental health, friendships, fathers and sons.
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Schooled
by Gordon Korman
After his hippie grandmother ends up in the hospital, Cap Anderson is forced to leave the commune where he is homeschooled and attend Claverage Middle School, where his odd looks and behavior make him the target of bullies.
Reading Level: 740L
Pillar: Respect
Themes: Humour, friendships, homeschool, hippies, belonging, individuality, heart-warming.
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I Am Still Alive
by Kate Alice Marshall
Stranded in the woods after her cabin burns down and her father is killed, a disabled girl and her dog fervently prepare for the coming winter while plotting revenge on the person who murdered her father.
Reading Level: 690L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Resilience, wilderness survival, revenge, family relationships.
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The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise
by Matthew Crow
Life threatening cancer brings Francis and Amber together, but when Francis's recovery takes a different path from Amber's, he has no idea how to live--or how to let go.
Reading Level: 880L
Pillar: Honesty
Themes: Humour, friendship, illness, mortality, high school.
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Drama
by Raina Telgemeier
Designing sets for her middle school's play, Callie tries to overcome limited carpentry skills, low ticket sales and squabbling crew members only to find her efforts further complicated by the arrival of two cute brothers.
Reading Level: 320L, SORA e-book
Pillar: Respect
Themes: Middle schools, theater, interpersonal relations, graphic novels.
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Soar
by Joan Bauer
Moving to Hillcrest, Ohio, when his adoptive father accepts a temporary job, twelve-year-old Jeremiah, a heart transplant recipient, has sixty days to find a baseball team to coach.
Reading Level: 510L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Baseball teams, adoption, transplantation of organs, fathers and sons.
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Genesis begins again
by Alicia Williams
Genesis is determined to fix her family, and she’s willing to try anything to do so…even if it means harming herself in the process. But when Genesis starts to find a thing or two she actually likes about herself, she discovers that changing her own attitude is the first step in helping change others.
Reading Level: 670L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: self acceptance, family relationships, growing up.
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Marco Impossible
by Hannah Moskowitz
When thirteen-year-old Marco falls hopelessly in love with an adorable exchange student who is playing the bass in the prom band, Marco and his best friend, Stephen, plot to break into the prom and get Marco onstage so that he can declare his affections.
Reading Level: 660L
Pillar: Courage, Respect
Themes: Mystery, best friends, middle school prom, LGBTQ+.
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King and the dragonflies
by Kacen Callender
A 12-year-old boy spends days in the mystical Louisiana bayou to come to terms with a sibling's sudden death, his grief-stricken family and the disappearance of his former best friend amid whispers about the latter's sexual orientation. By the award-winning author of Hurricane Child.
Genesis is determined to fix her family, and she’s willing to try anything to do so…even if it means harming herself in the process. But when Genesis starts to find a thing or two she actually likes about herself, she discovers that changing her own attitude is the first step in helping change others.
Reading Level: 670L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: self acceptance, family relationships, growing up. |
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Lily and Dunkin
by Donna Gephart
In a poignant tale by an award-winning author, a transgender girl and a boy struggling with bipolar disorder forge a friendship based on their respective experiences as outsiders trying to fit in.
Reading Level: 680L
Pillar: Respect
Themes: transgender people, mental illness, middle schools, friendship.
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The night diary
by Veera Hiranandani
Shy twelve-year-old Nisha, forced to flee her home with her Hindu family during the 1947 partition of India, tries to find her voice and make sense of the world falling apart around her by writing to her deceased Muslim mother in the pages of her diary.
Reading Level: 700L
Pillar: Respect
Themes: India's partition, family, journey to a new home, resilience.
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Optimists Die First
by Susin Nielsen
When Petula de Wilde, who is anything but wild, meets Jacob in their school's dorky art therapy program, his friendship (and something more) helps her overcome intense fears since her sister died. And he has a secret of his own.
Reading Level: 580L
Pillar: Honesty
Themes: Humour, emotional problems, loss, romance.
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Rocket Man
by Jan Coates
Feeling invisible as the middle child, Bob gets the chance to shine when he is asked to plan a basketball game to support cancer research, but his father, who suffers from cancer, may not be able to make the game when he lands in a wheelchair after a fall.
Reading Level: 650L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Basketball team, bullying, fathers and sons, cancer research.
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The Flip Side
by Shawn Johnson
An elite teenaged gymnast with Olympic dreams finds it hard to train when a irresistible guy comes along and threatens to throw her whole world off balance.
Reading Level: 610L
Pillar: Respect
Themes: Gymnastics, romance, female athletes, secrets, identity.
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Geek girl
by Holly Smale
When she is accidentally discovered by a modeling agent, fifteen-year-old Harriet jumps at the chance to transform herself from a geek to a fashion model.
Reading Level: 710L
Pillar: Respect
Themes: reinventing yourself, middle school, romance.
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Bifocal
by Deborah Ellis
After a Muslim student is arrested on suspicion of terrorist affiliations, Jay and the rest of the football squad are set up to look like racists while Haroon and other Muslim teens claim they are regularly subjected to prejudice at school.
Reading Level: approx 730L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: racism, friendships, high school, football.
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Scythe
by Neal Shusterman
In a world where disease has been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed ('gleaned') by professional reapers ('scythes'). Two teens must compete with each other to become a scythe--a position neither of them wants. The one who becomes a scythe must kill the one who doesn't. Read the rest of this exciting series.
Reading Level: 830L SORA ebook
Pillar: Service
Themes: Utopian world, ethical dilemmas, politics, survival.
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Tomorrow, When the War Began
by John Marsden
Seven Australian teenagers return from a camping trip in the bush to discover that their country has been invaded and they must hide to stay alive. Read more of the Tomorrow series.
Reading Level: 850L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Invasions, urban and wilderness survival, decisions.
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The Legend
by Marie Lu
In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy. Read more of the Legend series.
Reading Level: 710L, SORA ebook and audiobook
Pillar: Service
Themes: Fast-paced dystopian novel, plague, revenge, resistance fighters.
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Gunslinger Girl
by Lyndsay Ely
In a post-Second Civil War lawless West, seventeen-year-old Serendipity "Pity" Jones inherited two things from her mother: a pair of six shooters and perfect aim. She's been offered a life of fame and fortune in Cessation, a glittering city where lawlessness is a way of life. But the price she pays for her freedom may be too great....Pity's struggle against the dark and twisted underbelly of a corrupt city will haunt you long after the final bullet is shot.
Reading Level: 760L
Pillar: Honesty
Themes: Strong female protagonist, futuristic wild west, fighting corruption.
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The Rule of Thre3
by Eric Walters
A teen's suburban neighborhood bands together for its own survival in a world stricken by a catastrophic blackout. Read more of the Rule of Thre3 Series.
Reading Level: 720L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Post-apocalypse, survival, alliances, neighbourhoods.
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The 5th Wave
by Richard Yancey
After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.
Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors.
Reading Level: HL690L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: fast-paced action adventure, alien invasion, survival, brothers and sisters.
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The Martian
by Andy Weir
Stranded on Mars by a dust storm that compromised his space suit and forced his crew to leave him behind, astronaut Mark Watney struggles to survive in spite of minimal supplies and environmental challenges that test his ingenuity.
Reading Level: 680L SORA ebook
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Survival, astronauts, resourcefulness, space, science.
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Leviathan
by Scott Westerfeld
Read more of the Leviathan series.
In an alternate 1914 Europe, fifteen-year-old Austrian Prince Alek, on the run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe using mechanical machinery, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn who, disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service, is learning to fly genetically-engineered beasts.
Reading Level: 790L, SORA audiobook
Pillar: Courage
Themes: action-adventure, steampunk, technology, conspiracies, battles.
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Gone
by Michael Grant
This bestselling science fiction series by Michael Grant follows a small town of children and teens in southern California after everyone over the age of fifteen disappears, along with the internet, telephone lines, and electricity. A mysterious barrier forms around the town with no way for anyone to cross it in either direction. Suddenly, the teens in the town must not only learn how to keep themselves and the younger children alive without adult supervision, but also grapple with the other mysterious and sinister forces at play. Read the other novels in the Gone Series.
Reading Level: 620L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: self-reliance, survival, fast-paced thriller.
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A Wizard of Earthsea
by Ursula K. Le Guin
Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.
Reading Level: 1150L, SORA ebook and audiobook
Pillar: Service
Themes: Fantasy adventure, magic, sorcerers, dragons, destiny.
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Wildseed witch
by Marti Dumas
When an emotional outburst unleashes a magical ability within her that draws the attention of witches, social media-loving tween Hasani discovers she is a“Wildseed,” a stray witch who is more powerful than those who insult her can possibly imagine.
Reading Level: approx. 760L
Pillar: Respect
Themes: coming of age, magic, private school.
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Ned's circus of marvels
by Justin Fisher
With the help of a robot mouse, a girl witch, and a flying circus, Ned Waddlesworth sets out to save the world from a horde of monstrous beasts and beings including an army of vampire clowns!
Reading Level: approx. 750L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Magic, beasts, monsters, friendships, witches.
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The bone spindle
by Leslie Vedder
When she pricks her finger on a bone spindle, treasure hunter Fi is stuck with the spirit of Briar Rose, a prince under a sleeping curse, and must team up with a tough-as-dirt girl warrior to free the prince—and herself.
Reading Level: approx. 760L
Pillar: Service
Themes: Fairytale retelling, adventure, LGBTQ+.
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Star Daughter
by Shveta Thakrar
When her human father is injured by a starfire flare, half-star Sheetal embarks on a quest to a celestial court of shining wonders and dark shadows inspired by Hindu mythology to track down her star mother and participate in a competition to determine the sky’s next ruling house.
Reading Level: approx. 840L
Pillar: Service, courage
Themes: Fantasy, romance, magic, mythology.
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Six of Crows
by Leigh Bardugo
Six dangerous outcasts must learn to work together after they are offered an impossible heist that can save the world from destruction. Read more of Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse novels, including the Shadow and Bone series.
Reading Level: HL790L, SORA e-book
Pillar: Honesty
Themes: Adventure, world-building, fantasy, criminal heists.
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Hunted by the sky
by Tanaz Bhathena
A first entry in a planned duology inspired by medieval India follows the experiences of a girl with a star-shaped birthmark that causes her family to be targeted before she is trained in warrior magic and embarks on a quest for vengeance alongside a man who seeks a cure for his ailing father.
Reading Level: 800L
Pillar: Service
Themes: Magic, warriors, action adventure.
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Mark of the Thief
by Jennifer A Nielsen
Read others in the Mark of the Thief series.
Forced to enter a sealed cavern that reputedly holds the lost treasures of Caesar, slave Nic discovers an amulet imbued with divine power and finds himself at the center of a conspiracy to overthrow the emperor and spark a war.
Reading Level: 740L
Pillar: Respect
Themes: magic, ancient Rome, mines, slaves, freedom, rebellions.
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Hero
by Perry Moore
Thom Creed, son of a disowned superhero, finds that he, too, has special powers and is asked to join the very League that rejected his father, and it is there that Thom finds other misfits whom he can finally trust.
Reading Level: 750L
Pillar: Honesty
Themes: Superheroes, LGBTQ+, positive role models, heroes and heroines, fathers and sons.
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Graceling
by Kristin Cashore
In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king. Read more of the Graceling Realm series
Reading Level: 730L, SORA ebook and audiobook
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Fantasy adventure, Magic, assassins, strong female lead, murder, moral decisions.
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Six crimson cranes
by Elizabeth Lim
After unleashing forbidden magic, being banished by her stepmother and unable to speak or her brothers will die, Shiori'anma must find a way to save them with the help of a paper bird, a mercurial dragon and the very boy she fought so hard not to marry.
Reading Level: HL710L
Pillar: Service
Themes: East Asian folklore, dragons, magic, princess, action adventure.
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The Outcasts
by John Flanagan
Hal, who does not fit into Skandian society, ends up in a brotherband, a group of boys learning the skills that they need to become warriors, with other outcasts, and they compete with other brotherbands in a series of challenges. Read more of the Brotherband Chronicles.
Reading Level: 780L, SORA ebook
Pillar: Honesty
Themes: Mystery, treasure hunting, murder investigation.
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The Novice
by Taran Matharu
When Fletcher, a blacksmith's apprentice, learns he can summon demons, he travels with his demon to an academy for adepts where he is to train as a Battlemage in the Empire's war against the orcs, but he discovers that all is not as it seems. Read more of the Summoner Series.
Reading Level: 890L
Pillar: Service
Themes: Fantasy adventure, orphans, demonology, elves, school stories.
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A Monster Calls
by Patrick Ness
Thirteen-year-old Conor awakens one night to find a monster outside his bedroom window, but not the one from the recurring nightmare that began when his mother became ill, but an ancient, wild creature that wants him to face truth and loss.
Reading Level: 730L, SORA ebook
Pillar: Honesty
Themes: Paranormal, melancholy, nightmares, loss, diverse families.
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The Lie Tree
by Frances Hardinge
In this creepy suspense novel, fourteen-year-old Faith investigates the mysterious death of her father, who was involved in a scandal, and discovers a tree that feeds upon lies and gives those who eat its fruit visions of truth on an island off the south coast of Victorian England.
Reading Level: 860L, SORA ebook
Pillar: Honesty
Themes: Mystery, murder, magic, archaeology, scandal.
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A Spy in the House
by Y. S. Lee
Young orphan and thief ,Mary Quinn, is trained to be part of an all-female investigative unit called The Agency and, at age seventeen, she infiltrates a rich merchant's home in hopes of tracing his missing cargo ships. Read more of The Agency series.
Reading Level: 680L, SORA e-book
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Mystery, orphans, London, smuggling, detective stories, strong female protagonist, romance.
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See how they run
by Ally Carter
Desperate to find out the truth about her mother's murder, Grace has made herself a target and must be very careful which secrets she reveals. Read the rest of the Embassy Row series.
Reading Level: HL630L
Pillar:
Themes: Murder mystery, thriller, suspense.
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The Uninvited
by Tim Wynne-Jones
After a disturbing freshman year at New York University, Mimi is happy to get away to her father's remote Canadian cottage, only to discover a stranger living there who has never heard of her or her father and who is convinced that Mimi is responsible for leaving sinister tokens around the property.
Reading Level: 630L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Mystery, stalkers, rural life.
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The house on the gulf
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
When the family moves to Florida so that their mother can attend a college program for single mothers, older brother Bran takes on a job as a house-sitter so that they can have a place to live, but his younger sister Britt notices suspicious activity and worries that Bran might be keeping a dangerous secret about the owners of the house.
Reading Level: 730L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Suspense, thriller, siblings, survival.
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Saving Lucas Biggs
by Marisa De los Santos
When thirteen-year-old Margaret's father is sentenced to death for a crime he didn't commit, she knows the only way to save him is to use the forbidden family power of time travel.
Reading Level: 930L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Time travel, corruption, mining, mystery.
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Jump Cut
by Ted Staunton
Spencer, an aspiring filmmaker, is less than impressed by his late grandfather's request that he travel to Buffalo to get a kiss from an aging movie star, but Gloria Lorraine isn't at all what he expected and the trip turns out to be anything but boring. Read any of the Sevens Series.
Reading Level: 630L SORA ebook
Pillar: Honesty
Themes: action-adventure, quests, criminals, mafia, motorcycle gangs.
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The Dark Missions of Edgar Brim
by Shane Peacock
Haunted by night terrors since infancy, Edgar Brim becomes determined to confront his demons when he finds his father's journal, leading him to an eccentric society that believes monsters from famous works of literature are real.
Reading Level: 890L
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Suspense, murder mystery, secret societies, monsters.
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The Apothecary
by Maile Meloy
Meeting fearless Benjamin Burrows when she moves to London in 1952, 14-year-old Janie Scott helps Benjamin on a quest to rescue his kidnapped father while protecting a sacred apothecary tome from dangerous Russian spies. Read others in the Apothecary series.
Reading Level: 740L SORA audiobook
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Science, mystery, alchemy, spies, cold war, adventure.
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Hidden Figures
by Margot Lee Shetterly
An account of the previously unheralded but pivotal contributions of NASA's African-American women mathematicians to the space program describes how they were segregated from their white counterparts by Jim Crow laws in spite of their groundbreaking successes, in a best-selling account that inspired the film.
Reading Level: 1120L, SORA audiobook
Pillar: Respect
Themes: Space program, women in mathematics.
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Dreams from my father: a story of race and inheritance
by Barack Obama
Now adapted for young adults, the #1 New York Times best-selling memoir offers an intimate look at Barack Obama's early days, tracing the future 44th president's odyssey through family, race and identity. Illustrations.
Reading Level: 910L
Pillar: Service
Themes: Memoir, self discovery, leadership.
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Fly Like a Girl : One Woman's Dramatic Fight in Afghanistan and On the Home Front
by Mary Jennings Hegar
Complemented by exclusive photos, a young readers edition of the story about decorated Air National Guard Major Mary Jennings Hegar describes the acts of courage that helped her convince the government to allow women to serve openly on the front lines.
Reading Level: approx. 730L
Pillar: Service
Themes: Afghanistan war, fighter pilots, women in the forces, equality, autobiography.
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Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek
by Maya van Wagenen
Documents a high school student's year-long attempt to change her social status from that of a misfit to a member of the "in" crowd by following advice in a 1950s popularity guide, an experiment that triggered embarrassment, humour and unexpected surprises.
Reading Level: 730L
Pillar: Honesty
Themes: Hysterical memoir, self-confidence, grace, kindness.
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The Radium Girls: the Dark Story of America's Shining Women
by Kate Moore
Recounts the struggles of hundreds of women who were exposed to radium while working factory jobs during World War I, describing how they were mislead by their employers and became embroiled in a battle for workers' rights.
Reading Level: 980L, SORA ebook
Pillar: Honesty, Service
Themes: Non-fiction, women in science, nuclear medicine, mystery, rights.
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Unbroken: An Olympian's Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive
by Laura Hillenbrand
This captivating young adult edition of the award-winning #1 New York Times best-seller tells the story of Louis Zamperini's breathtaking survival odyssey and the courage, cunning and fortitude he found to endure and overcome seemingly insurmountable odds.
Reading Level: 850L, SORA ebook and audiobook
Pillar: Courage
Themes: Biography, prisoners of war, WW II, air force.
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Boy: Tales of Childhood
by Roald Dahl
Ever wonder how Roald Dahl got his inspiration for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Find out in this wonderful laugh-out-loud autobiography. Humorous anecdotes from the author's childhood describe summer vacations in Norway and life in an English boarding school.
Reading Level: 1020L, SORA ebook
Pillar: Honesty
Themes: Autobiography, growing up, inspiration for his writing, humour.
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Becoming: Adapted for Young Readers
by Michelle Obama
"This volume for young people is an honest and fascinating account of Michelle Obama's life led by example. She shares her views on how all young people can help themselves as well as help others, no matter their status in life. She asks readers to realize that no one is perfect, and that the process of becoming is what matters, as finding yourself is ever evolving. In telling her story with boldness, she asks young readers: Who are you, and what do you want to become?"
Reading Level: 1080L
Pillar: Service
Themes: Autobiography, African Americans, law, family, First Ladies.
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The light in hidden places
by Sharon Cameron
Sixteen-year-old Catholic Stefania Podgórska has worked in the Diamant family's grocery store for four years, even falling in love with one of their sons, Izio; but when the Nazis came to Przemyśl, Poland, the Jewish Diamants are forced into the ghetto(and worse) but Izio's brother Max manages to escape, and Stefania embarks on a dangerous course--protecting thirteen Jews in her attic, caring for her younger sister, Helena, and keeping everything secret from the two Nazi officers who are living in her house.
Reading Level: HL650L
Pillar: Service
Themes: WW2, survival, love, families, friendships.
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Playing the Long Game : A Memoir
by Christine Sinclair
Christine Sinclair is one of the world's most respected and admired athletes. Working with the brilliant and bestselling sportswriter Stephen Brunt, who has followed her career for decades, the intensely private Sinclair will share her reflections on the significant moments and turning points in her life and career, the big wins and losses survived, not only on the pitch. Her extraordinary journey, combined with her candour, commitment and decency, will inspire and empower her fans and admirers, and girls and women everywhere.
Reading Level: approx. 1000L
Pillar: Service
Themes: Memoir, Olympic soccer, leadership.
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